2021 Solitude 310GK mystery charging system problems

[CDBailey]

Hey, guys! I am new to the Forum! My wife and I purchased a new GD Solitude 310GK in Feb 2021; we have developed a baffling issue with the lights and charging system; so far even our dealer cannot figure it out! Hoping someone else may have some experience or insight:

021 Grand Design Solitude 310 Electrical Issues
(9/14/2023)

Earlier this Summer I pulled the rig from Little Rock to Shreveport, LA over the July 4th weekend period, and it was HOT! I was there on the shore power for 7 days. When I was tearing down camp, I disconnected from shore power, and then found that I did not have enough battery to retract the slides – took me forever to switch on, switch off, back and forth until I got the slides in. I checked the battery status lights on the convenience center, and had three lights out of four.
I did not think that should be, since the charging system should have had the batteries topped off! I also noted that I had a “Lo dc” message on the fridge, which would indicate the charging system was not working.
I pulled the rig back home to Conway and had full batteries (which was due to my truck charging the batteries on the way home). I parked the rig for 6 weeks, turned off the master switch (did not disconnect the negative cable), and when I returned to hook up for another trip, the batteries were stone dead- less than 2 volts, and they would not charge.
So, I got 2 new batteries, hooked up and pulled back to Shreveport Sept. 7th, for 5 days. When hooking up to move about a hundred miles down the road we experienced the exact same issue as the previous trip.

I spent 3 days at the new location, and when I woke up on the day to return home, experienced the following:

• “Lo dc” message on fridge;
• Battery status – 3 out of 4 lights;
• Overhead lights in living room:

1. With the wall switch turned off- strange very dim glowing, with an occasional flicker and a steady surge a little bit for 15 seconds, then out for 5 seconds, then repeat the cycle. With wall switch on – lights came on bright for 5 seconds, then flickered & surged for 25 seconds, then repeat (similar as when switch was off, but brighter).

• Bedroom overhead lights:

1. Some slight flicker when switched on; dark when switch turned off.

• Lights in Living Room slide (over recliners and dining table):

1. Some slight flicker when switched on; nothing when switched off.

• Lights in the Pantry area:

1. When any of these led strips were switched on, everything stabilized and the “Lo dc” message went out; Battery status quickly returned to 4 lights out of 4, and all lights seemed to work normally!

However, when I started loading up to leave about 2 hours later, the battery voltage was so low that I could not return to “Hitch Height” position, and the leveling system would not return the leveling feet to the home position. I had a very difficult time getting hooked up, and I was not a very happy camper at that point!!
When I got back to my home (4 hour pull) the batteries were in good enough shape (my truck had charged them up) that I was able to unhook, level, and extend the slides. I plugged the rig in to the house shore power, but still had the “Lo dc” message, and battery status of 3 out of 4 lights, UNTIL I turned on the pantry area lights. Once I switched those on, everything returned to normal condition!

We left the unit plugged into our home 120v, and when we hooked up to take the unit to our dealer to try to find the problem. the batteries were fine and we had no problems. We left the unit with my dealer for several weeks, and they studied, researched, but could not identify any problem- everything checks "normal," which has been my experience when trying to troubleshoot the charging system. And yet... I keep experiencing the same issue every time we leave the house.

My theory is that the charging system is not charging for some reason; probably a short somewhere, which would cause the output of the charger to go to zero; either that or the converter/inverter is bad.

We are really frustrated, and need some help!

[acoleman43]

CDBailey If it were me, I would start with the DC side of your distribution panel. I would pull it out and do a visual inspection. It would be great if you could check voltages when the flickering is occurring. That could help locate the issue area. Use multimeter to verify voltages to/from batteries.

There are some pretty smart electrical people in this forum who will give you better advice

[Jlawles2]

1st thing I would do is measure battery voltage on and off of shore power. Check voltage with and without the batteries connected. My guess is the converter may have an issue. Even without the batteries the converter should produce enough current to run the lights (no slides).

If you determine the converter is not putting out enough power, then jump to finding it (most likely behind the false wall in the pass through basement) and check for power there. If you find proper AC supply and DC output, trace the converter output wires starting with the ground.

The only other thing that I can think is one of the self resetting breakers is BAD not letting the battery charge.

All of this assumes you have a multi meter and can use it to make simple measurements.

One other strange thing could be that the batteries were wired in series instead of parallel assuming they are 12VDC batteries. This can cause all kinds of issues. Simple check is batteries should be positive to positive and negative to negative.

If the batteries are 6VDC then they should be wired in series positive to camper and negative of that battery to positive of 2nd battery, then negative of the 2nd battery to the negative.

[TucsonJim]

This one is really obvious to me. Everything is working exactly as it should be with the exception of battery charging. On your 2021 Solitude, you have a WFCO brand converter/charger behind the basement wall. It apparently has failed. I've had them fail after a year or two myself.

Sometimes, it's a really simple fix. The converter should have two fuses on it. Check the fuses and replace if necessary. if this doesn't solve the problem, then follow this flowchart to get to the bottom of your charging issue:



jIM

[Country Campers]

Also make sure the battery disconnect key is pushed in and turned so the key can not be removed, this is needed to charge from the converter.

Brian

[Lonestar]

Great suggestions for trouble shooting. Hopefully it will not be your converter, but if so, please consider a brand other than WFCO. There are much better solutions for the same price.

[Tadlur]

I have a '23 Solitude 310.
I assume you don't have solar and have LA batteries?
Check the 120 VAC breakers in the AC distribution panel in the cabinet by the entry door? There is one breaker for the converter. Make sure it isn't tripped.
Make sure all the battery disconnects (in the pass thru and there may be another in the front storage locker on the ceiling) are in the "ON" position.
Measure the voltage across your batteries without being connected to shore power. It should be between 12-13 VDC.
Connect to shore power and verify you have AC power (microwave clock is on). Note that if the converter is failed or turned off you will still have 120 VAC throughout the unit when connected to SP.
Measure the voltage at battery again while connected to SP and it should be ~13.6 VDC. If so your converter is probably OK.
If the voltage is the same as what you measured previously (i.e., before connecting SP) open the back wall of the pass thru storage and look closely at the lower left corner of the converter and looking into the lower left corner of the converter box you should see a green LED light. If you see the light but measured no increase in voltage at the batteries when you connected to SP check the two blade fuses on the output of the converter.
If no green light is visible inside your converter it is probably hard failed but before you buy a new converter check the 120 VAC breaker output that feeds the outlet the converter is plugged in to. You can do this by bypassing the breaker/outlet and plug the converter into a separate extension cord. If the converter comes to life you likely have an open circuit where the wire plugs into the back of the converter breaker. Check to make sure the wire to the converter outlet is securely pinned into the back of the breaker. Battery charging could be intermittent if loose.

Like the WFCO converter the TS'ing flow chart is not as good as it could be.

As recommended by Lonestar don't replace it with another WFCO.

[CDBailey]

Thank you guys so much! This level of response is helping my attitude abut owning a GD RV! (it was beginning to suffer a little!)

We just finished another 7 day trip and have the very same issues. I left the unit at my dealer for evaluation and repairs, and after fiddling with it for three weeks they could not find anything wrong- everything checked OK! We left for the Gulf Coast for a week, and the crazy thing is, everything worked exactly as it should... for the first 3 or 4 days; then, back to the glowing LED's, falling battery voltage, etc. When things started to go south the voltage indication on my Lippert OneControl showed 12.2 volts, then 11.8 volts, 11.5 volts, etc. I did not have my multimeter with me on this trip (lesson learned there), but our dealer did every check they could think of before we picked the unit up to make the trip.

I think I will just change the converter, with a unit other than WFCO, and hope that clears up the issues. I am really tired of fooling with it!

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Well...failed components don't repair themselves and work for three or four days then back to failed. But loose/corroded connections do or can. Or...a pair of batteries can simply wear down after 3, 4 days.... Possibly your system is having trouble with it's DC ground. With a ground problem electricity will try to find another way to ground. Sometimes causing lights to flicker or glow as it searches for a path to ground. It could be anywhere in the trailer from the connections near the battery, wherever your frame ground is, one of the mods or another 310GK owner might post where the frame connection(s) is. The converter connections, connections at the fuse panel, or the converter itself.
Also, the 120vac breaker feeding your converter may 'look' ok. Test it's output with a meter. If you don't have a meter, turn the breaker off then back on again even if it looks like it's not tripped.
If your dealer couldn't find any problems, I'm going to say your converter is good. Or...you have a dealer service department with no talent on the bench. A failed converter is easy to find and easy money for a dealer.
IMO, don't spend your money just yet on a converter. Follow through Jims posted chart or Tadlur's suggestions first. If it shows your converter failed....replace it and find another service dept.

[CDBailey]

Scott'n'Wendy, thanks for the additional advice; I suppose I am just looking for an easy resolution, but you are correct about the need to troubleshoot properly, and not just start shooting in the dark. I will let you guys know how this plays out!